They are perhaps the most pronounced and recognized brands among sporting goods buyers around the world. But How and where did they arise? Have you ever wondered what is the origin of the words that represent the most powerful businesses in the world? Below I would like to share with you a selection of very interesting anecdotes about Nike, Adidas, Puma or Reebok. Anecdotes that can be inspiring and very interesting and perhaps to understand some of the reasons for their effectiveness as advertising names.
Do you know more curiosities about the origin of the most recognized brands? Let us know in the comment section!
Nike: The quintessential brand of sports products has its origin in Greek mythology. Specifically, the goddess of victory, a concept that is closely related to the brand's philosophy, competitiveness and ambition. Around 1972, the brand saw the light of the hand of its two creators, Phil Knight and Bill Boweman, who at the same time were the founders of an importing company of Japanese Tiger shoes called Blue Ribbon Sports. But if we are faithful to the truth we must say that the great idea was had by the first BRS employee, Jeff Johnson who somehow saved them from a resounding failure in terms of identity because at first Knight wanted to baptize it as Dimension 6 and fortunately the idea was scrapped.
Adidas and Puma: The Dassler family owned a shoe business until it passed into the hands of a new generation. The two sons of the family competed in an extreme way so that in 1948 it was decided to resort to the alternative of dividing the business into two independent businesses, on the one hand what we know today as Adidas and on the other what is known as Puma. Adidas is the result of the name of the creator, Adolf Dassler. He was known to all as Adi and the union of this nickname with the first syllable of his surname gave rise to one of the best known brands worldwide. On the other hand, Puma is the result of something similar. Rudolf Dassler wanted to follow the same naming strategy but came across a result that was not commercial at all, Ruda. Finally he decided to use his nickname from youth: Puma.
Reebok: It comes from the word Rhebok, which is neither more nor less than a variety of African gazelle. Like the Puma brand, speedy animals create positive and effective associations with the world of sport.
umbrella: It is the result of the contraction of "Hermanos Humphreys", the founders of the business, in English. Namely, the contraction of Humphreys Brothers.
Top: The brand was created and developed around 1975 and Topper was neither more nor less than the name of the dog of one of the executives of the firm.
Asics: Its origin is quite curious and is that it is the acronym for the famous Latin phrase "Anima sana in corpore sana" (Soul / Mind healthy in a healthy body). This data is not very well known because of what many consumers and users pronounce it as if it were an English word (eisics). That said, we should also take into account that the Nike brand should not be pronounced as Naik, since the correct thing to do when dealing with a Greek term would be Nike. Although of course ... if you say it like that, surely more than one looks at you with a somewhat strange face.
Diana: In Greek it means something like "to share the honors or the successes" and also the name of a sports society in Venice created towards the beginning of the twentieth century, and towards the year 1024 it managed to have athletes winning the gold award in the Olympic Games of Paris, which was his greatest achievement.
Hummel: The Danish brand was originally founded in Hamburg, Germany. In addition to being a reference to the “hummel bee” in the logo, the name alludes to the phrase “Humel hummel”, a colloquial greeting in that city.
Discuss: The popular American brand is named after its founder, rubber manufacturer Marquis Mills Converse.
Joma: The most important Spanish brand was founded in 1965. The name comes from José Manuel, the eldest son of Fructuoso López, founder of the company.
Dunlop: A case similar to Converse. John Boyd Dunlop was a Scotsman who invented the tube rubber tire. His company was established as Dunlop Tires in 1890 and later became the Dunlop Rubber Company, which began selling Dunlop's well-known rubber-soled shoes.